Machine for cleaning seed.



No. 643,480. Patented Feb. 13, I900. A. A. DIFFEY.

MACHINE FUR CLEANING SEED.

(Application filed. Sept. 8, 1899.)

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Patented Feb. 13, 1900.

No. 643.480. A. A. DIFFEY.

MACHINE FDR CLEANING SEED.

(Application filed. Sept. 6, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT Grrrcs.

ALEXANDER A. DIFFEY, OF FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING SEED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,480, dated February 13, 1900. Application filed September 8,1899. Serial No. 729,847. on model-J To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER A. DIFFEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Smith, in the county of Sebastian, State of Arkansas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cleaning Seed, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a machine for cleaning seed, and is particularly adapted for the delinting of cotton-seed.

The invention has for its object to produce a delinting-cylinder provided with verticallydisposed means for rubbing or abrading the seed and with an opposite reticulated portion to permit the escape of the lint removed from the seed.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for receiving and conveying said lint and separating therefrom the particles of hulls which may pass from the delinting-cylinder.

The invention further consists of an improved construction of abrading-plate and cooperating rubbing-disks, together with means for creating a current of air within the cylinder.

A further object is'to provide beneath the reticulated portion of the cylinder a roll having a roughened surface to receive the lint and deliver it to a separating and conveying brush.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical transverse section through the machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan with parts broken away to show the interior mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail of the abraiding-plates, and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing the method of securing said plates to the casing.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The letter A designates an outer shell or casing mounted upon any suit-able support for instance, the supports A and cross-beam A which maintain the bearing-boxes A for the rotating parts within the casing. This shell or casing is formed of two parts and joined by bolts in the usual manner, as at A", so as to comprise a cylindrical body one portion of which is adapted to carry abrading-plates B and the opposite portion a reticulated plate or surface 0.

The abrading-plates B may be secured to the casing in any suitable manner. For instance, as illustrated, they may be provided with a beveled end portion B, adapted to seat in a recess a within the casing, and are formed in two parts and held in position by the beveled clamping strip B bearing against the inclined ends B of the meeting plates, said strip being secured to the casing by any suitable form of bolt and nut 13, as shown in detail in Fig. 5. This method of attachment permits the removal and replacement of the plates whenever found necessary, and as the same are formed in longitudinal sections of short lengths those having the most wear can be removed or shifted in position whenever found necessary. Each plate is provided with ribs B inclining from the feed-opening A toward the outlet A at the opposite end of the cylinder, and thus produce a feeding action upon the material during the abrading operation.

The opposite side of the cylinder is formed of reticulated material C, secured in position by fitting into a recess 0, formed in the opposite section of the casing. This section is provided with a pivoted plate A which may be swung away from the reticulated surface 0 to permit access thereto, and at the lower portion of this surface a delivery-plate A is provided.

For the purpose of producing arubbing or abrading action in connection with the plates B a rubbing-drum D of an y suitable construction has been provided; but as illustrating the preferred form the drum is shown as made of separable sections D, having a slight space between the same for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth. These sections are keyed upon a rotatable shaft D and consist, essentially, of band-wheels having upon their outer periphery rubbing-lugs D While the spokes extending from the hub to the periphery of said wheel are provided with enlarged flattened portions D to constitute a fan-blade and create a current of air outward between the rubbing-wheels and the reticulated casing for the purpose of assisting in the removal of lint from the cylinder and from the seed as it is loosened by the abrading action. The wheels D are so disposed that the lugs D upon one wheel alternate with those upon the adjacent wheel, thus presenting a segmental rubbing-surface throughout the length of the cylinder. At each end of the cylinder a flanged plate D is provided to prevent the end friction of the material against the body of the casing and any escape of the same through the opening for the journal D The plate D at the opposite end of the casing is provided with an aperture adapted to register with the opening A in the casing A, which is provided for the admission of air to the fanblades D", carried by the rubbing-wheels. By the structure just described it will be seen that the wheels may be removed whenever necessary by wear or otherwise and can be replaced by those of a dilferent character to effect a proper abrading or grinding action upon any class of material desired.

Theliberated lint after passing through the reticulated face C of the cylinder drops upon the roughened roll E, which is suitablydriven in the same direction as the cylinder and carries the lint thereon toward a rotating brush 1*. The lint-wheel E is mounted uponajournal E and driven in any suitable manner for instance, by means of a band-wheel E and belt E extending from a pulley E upon the shaft D which is positively driven at the opposite end of the machine. The roll may be of any suitable character and extends the entire length of the cylinder, while the surface thereof is roughened by the application of carding-cloth or any other suitable material for the purpose of catching and retaining the lint thereon.

The rotating brush I is mounted upon a journal F, carried by suitable bearings in the frame, and is driven by means of a bandwheel F upon said journal and engaged by the main driving-belt F extending under the band-wheel F over the main driving-pulley 1 upon the shaft D and thence under the idler-wheel F to a suitable source of power. The brush F is inclosed within a suitable box A and provided with a delivery-chute G, through which the lint is passed by the rotary motion of the brush, while the broken particles of hull and small seeds from the lint drop to the space beneath the brush, from which they may be removed at suitable times. It should be stated that the brush contacts slightly with the lint-roll E in order to remove from the surface thereof the adhering lint. The delinted seed after passing the-length of the cylinder may be discharged beneath the same through the outlet-opening A.

In the operation of the machine the seed to be delinted is introduced at the feed-opening A and is immediately carried by rubbingwheels into contact with the spirally-disposed corrugations B upon the abrading-plates B. These corrugations conform to the curvature of the seed, so as to produce a rubbing action without breaking or grinding the seed, and the spiral disposition of the corrugations moves the seed toward the discharge-spout A. At each rotation of the rubbing-wheel some of the material is carried over the reticulated section 0 of the cylinder, and the liberated lint passes outward through this section by the centrifugal force, assisted, if necessary, by the draft from the fan-blades D by which air is thus caused to circulate through and cool the seed.' By the time the seed is passed to the discharge end of the cylinder the lint has been thoroughly removed and has dropped upon the lint-roll E, from which it is taken and discharged by the brush F, as heretofore described.

It is obvious that changes may be made in the details of construction and configuration of the various parts of the machine without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A machine for cleaning seed comprising a cylinder having a longitudinal verticallydisposed side segmentprovided with an abrading-surface and an opposite vertically-disposed side segment provided with a reticulated face, a casing spaced from said reticulated face and communicating with a discharge at its lower portion, and a rubbing device adapted to rub the seed over the abrading-surface and afterward to agitate the seed over the reticulated surface to permit the free escape of liberated matter from the seed through the reticulated face into the space between said face and easing; substantially as specified.

2. A machine for cleaning seed comprising a cylinder having a longitudinal verticallydisposed side segment provided with an abrading-surface and an opposite vertically-disposed side segment provided with a reticulated face, a casing spaced from said reticulated face and communicating with a discharge at its lower portion, and a sectional rubbing-drum provided with separated peripheral lugs adapted to rub the seed in its contact with the abrading-surface and to agitate the seed to permit the escape of lint from the seed as it is carried from the reticulated face; substantially as specified.

3. A machine for cleaning seed comprising a cylinder having a longitudinal side segment of its inner face provided with abrading-plates and an opposite side segment provided with a reticulated face, a rubbing-drum rotatable within said cylinder, a casing spaced from said reticulated face and provided with a discharge at its lower portion, a lint-roll beneath said discharge, and a linting-brush adapted to contact with said roll; substantially as specified.

4. A machine for cleaning seed comprising a cylinder having a segment of its inner face provided with abrading-plates and another segment provided with a reticulated face, a sectional rubbingdrum adapted to rotate within said cylinder, and fan-blades rotatable with the sections of said drum; substantially as specified.

5. A machine for cleaning seed comprising a cylinder having a segment of its inner face provided with abrading-plates and another segment provided with a reticulated face, a sectional rubbing drum adapted to rotate within said cylinder, fan blades rotatable with the sections of said drum, and flangeplates at the opposite ends of said drum; substantially as specified.

6. In a machine for cleaning seed, the combination with a casing provided with sockets, of segmental abrading-plates fitting said sockets and clamped by a block at their meeting ends and provided with corrugations, a reticulated face forming a segment of said cylinder, and a rubbing-drum adapted to cooperate with said plates; substantially as spect fied.

7. In a machine for cleaning seed, the combination with a casing, of an abrading-plate carried by a segment thereof and provided with spirally-disposed corrugations, a reticulated face forming a segment of said cylinder,

a rubbing-drum adapted to cooperate with said plates and a fan device rotatable with the drum to produce a current of air therein; substantially as specified.

8. In a machine for cleaning seed, the combination with a casing, of an abrading-plate carried by a segment thereof and provided with spirally-disposed corrugations, a reticulated face forming a longitudinal side se ment of said cylinder, a rubbing-drum adapt ed to cooperate with said plates, and a. pivoted casin g covering said reticulated side section and communicating with a discharge at its lower portion; substantially as specified.

9. In a machine for cleaning seed, a casing provided with a recessed portion having beveled sockets at opposite ends, abrading-plates beveled at opposite ends and adapted to seat in said sockets, and a clamping-strip having beveled faces to engage the adjacent beveled faces upon the plates and clamp the same in contact with the casing, and a rubbing-drum composed of separated members cooperating with said plates and carrying fan-blades therein; substantially as specified.

10. In a machine for cleaning seed, a cylindrical casing bearing abrading-plates and having a reticulated portion,a sectional abradin g-d rum composed of independent disks having upon their periphery rubbinglugs, the lugs upon one of said disks alternating wit-h those upon another, a fan-blade carried by the spokes of said disk, and means for rotating said disks comprising the drum within said cylinder; substantially as specified.

11. In a machine for cleaning seed, a cylin der carrying abrading-plates and having a reticulated section,a rubbing-drum composed of separated members within said cylinder and provided with fan-blades therein, a lint=roll extending longitudinally beneath said reticulated portion and provided with a roughened surface, a lint-brush adapted to remove the lint from said roll, and a discharge-chute com-- in unicating with said brush to receive the lint therefrom; substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. v

ALEXANDER A. DIFFEY.

Witnesses:

W. M. FEAGLE, J. H. WAGNER, Jr. 

